 |
|
|
PM to meet Dharia on farm loans
Americans coming to India for surgeries
Army fights suicide trend
Dissociate from US, says Karat
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
ISI ‘masterminding’ fake currency racket
‘Simulated war’ by Indian, US warships
Kochi e-mail threat case solved
|
|
PM to meet Dharia on farm loans
New Delhi, October 29 Unnerved by Mr Dharia's threat to launch an indefinite fast
from November 14 to press for the acceptance of his demands for
debt-ridden farmers, the Prime Minister has invited him for talks here
tomorrow. Both Dr Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi have already
appealed to the former Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission to
call off his strike. Mr Dharia, whose strike call has elicited
widespread support from farmers and civil society groups, has demanded
that all debts of farmers taken from private moneylenders be waived,
loans of farmers owning less than two hectares of farmland in the
rainfed areas be waived and the interest rate on agricultural borrowing
be reduced to 4 per cent. UPA sources maintained that the government
could not afford to accept all these demands, as it would place a huge
burden on the public exchequer. It was stated that the decision to
reduce the interest rate on farm loans from 9 to 7 per cent had meant a
loss of Rs 880 crore. If the interest rate was to be brought down
further to 4 cent, it would mean an additional burden of about Rs.1, 200
crore. "As regards the demand for waiving off loans, the cost will
be huge," remarked a UPA minister. Of these three demands, the
Centre believes a reduction in interest rates is the most doable.
Despite the costs, the Centre can ill-afford to ignore Mr Dharia's
strike call as it has the potential of flaring up into a mass movement
given the support he is garnering. This is not the only issue worrying
the Centre on the agriculture front. For instance, the Centre is still
struggling to fix the minimum support price for mustard and wheat so as
to balance the interests of the consumer and the farmer. Given the
glut in the mustard crop and the poor demand for it, the Centre will
like to reduce the MSP so as to discourage farmers from growing mustard.
But it cannot afford to take such a drastic decision, as it will not sit
well with the UPA government's pro-farmer image. The Prime Minister is
already under pressure from the Congress, which has been pressing for
urgent measures for rescuing the crisis-ridden farm sector. Demands
similar to those listed by Mr Dharia were also made by the Congress
chief ministers at last month's Nainital conclave. The Congress CMs
wanted the reduced interest rate of 7 per cent to be extended to states
and cooperative banks. They had also demanded that a waiver of the
non-performing assets of cooperative banks, which was resisted by
Finance Minister P.Chidambaram.
|
|
Americans coming to India for surgeries
New Delhi, October 29 Planet Hospital, a two-year-old online infomediary that
helps patients consult physicians and surgeons of their choice, is
convinced that more and more Americans are narrowing down on India while
shortlisting doctors and hospitals for treatment and surgery. Although
the service is totally online, Planet Hospital is optimistic that it
will soon have a toll free international number to expedite follow up of
inquiries. Only 10 days back, Planet Hospital organised a total hip
resurfacing for Rick Thues, a 52-year-old American citizen from Los
Angeles at Max Hospital, Saket. The procedure cost Thues abouts $
10,000 which is one-eighth the cost in his own country. Apart from Thues,
five US nationals are presently in India for neuro, cosmetic, prostate
and orthopaedic surgeries, with the help of Planet Hospital. Mr Sunil
Mehrotra, Los Angeles based Chief Executive Officer of Planet Hospital
who is visiting India told TNS: “We are an infomediary in helping
people make smarter health choices by giving them accurate information
about health services. Planet Hospital has been in the business for the
last two years. On a global basis, we have sent a thousand patients to
various medical centres through our network in India, Dubai, Singapore,
Thailand and some countries in South America. Our Unique Selling
Proposition (USP) is that we provide world class healthcare with world
class hospitality at a reasonable price. We have had several patients
opt for cardio vascular procedures at Fortis, Apollo and Wockhardt,
Mumbai.” The Almora-born entrepreneur who has been in the United
States since 1971 says: “India’s credibilility and image abroad has
been enhanced by its information technology status, intellectual capital
and competence of Indians.” Former President of Home Store, an
Internet-based company, Mr Mehrotra says, “India is no longer looked
upon as a country of cheap labour but as one that has an enviable asset
of well-trained professionals. India is very visible in all the economic
fora. The ‘Incredible India’ campaign of the Ministry of Tourism has
done wonders. So have visits of President Clinton and President
Bush.” Mr Mehrotra says that the company charges anything between $
100 to $ 300 from a patient. It also charges the hospital a commission.
In return for the service charges, Planet Hospital follows up on the
shortlist sent by patients of the countries and medical centres that
they would like to visit. Normally, most patients send names of three
countries and doctors.” We send them updated information and then
leave it to them to make a final choice. Decision-making is absolutely
consumer-centric. We also send their medical records to the three
centres and then post them the feedback. We also facilitate telephone
calls between the doctors and the patients. Once the patient has decided
on the medical centre, Planet Hospital also gives him a list of hotels
according to his pocket and makes bookings with the help of country
managers.” The company has appointed country managers who are
entrusted the task of identifying hospitals that are at par with
American standards. Within these hospitals, they also identify the best
doctors and surgeons and make partnerships with the hospitals. “They
have to meet very stringent quality criterion. For instance, we are in
partnership with Indraprastha Apollo Hospital and Wockhardt, Mumbai that
have JCI accredition,”says Mr Mehrotra. Mr Vipul Jain, Country Manager
of Planet Hospital, told TNS that at present, five Americans were being
treated at various centres in India for neuro, cosmetic, prostate and
orthopaedic surgery. “Of the 145 foreign nationals who came to India
last year for treatment through Planet Hospital, 80 per cent were
Americans. One of the prime reasons of seeking treatment here is low
cost of treatment and quality of medical care. Besides, some procedures
as disc replacement are not approved by the US FDA (Food and Drug
Administration). As many as 40 million Americans don’t have medical
insurance and cannot afford to pay for procedures in private
hospitals.” Asked if American citizens are satisfied with the
services provided in Indian medical centres, Mr Mehrotra says, “I have
come to India after 10 years. At the end of my fact finding visit, I
have concluded that patients are very happy with the physicians and the
medical experience. What is lacking, however, is total absence of middle
tier economy and quality hotels that serve good continental food. They
would rather have good Indian food than bad continental food.” The
CEO of Hospital Planet says: “Another interesting feedback I got was
on the nature of care in hospitals in India. People from the US say that
they are not comfortable being attended by a group of paramedics. They
find it intrusive.” |
|
Army fights suicide trend
New Delhi, October 29 Sepoy P. John Thomas of the 1 Bihar Regiment, posted in the district recently, shot himself with his Insas rifle yesterday while he was on duty in the Patti Manga region, close to the Line of Control. The police registered a case of suicide while the Army began an internal inquiry. Army officials admitted that the stress levels among soldiers were on the rise, not only because of job pressures, but also as a result of disturbance due to long duration of separation from family. They said the growing stress levels, resulting in suicides and killing of fellow soldiers, had forced the Army to think of long-term measures to fight the menace. The Army would subject its jawans to yoga, meditation and psychological counselling over the next few months. It had decided to introduce yoga and meditation at the unit level and planned to appoint 50 psychological counsellors. They would particularly be posted at the Udhampur-based Northern Command and the Kolkata-based Eastern Command in the rank of Junior Commissioned Officers. The suicide rate in the Army was lower than in the West, but officials admitted that the trend was reason for concern. Statistics showed that the Army had a suicide rate of 10.8 per lakh, compared to the national average of 14 per lakh. Efforts to sensitise junior officers and increase interaction among soldiers and immediate bosses were under way. The Army was looking at ensuring that every soldier got at least a day off every week and soldiers posted in stressful areas like Kashmir got frequent leave. Most suicides had taken place immediately after soldiers returned from leave. An officer said superiors had been told to interview soldiers who returned from leave to assess their stress levels.
|
|
Dissociate from US, says Karat
New Delhi, October 29 Asking the government to pursue an independent foreign policy, Mr Karat wrote in the forthcoming issue of People’s Democracy that External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Defence Minister A.K. Antony were aware of New Delhi’s traditional foreign policy based on non-alignment and protecting India’s vital interests. Mr Karat took exception to the Indo-US joint statement issued in Washington in July 2005, declaring India to be a partner of the USA in the global democracy initiative. He pointed out how Left parties had declared two years ago that India’s foreign policy faced serious distortions because of the obsessive drive to harmonise positions on regional and global issues with US global strategies. Lashing out at the UPA government’s uncritical acceptance of the US declaration that it aimed at helping India become a world-class power, he said the Centre had not looked deeper to see what the US motives were.
|
|
|
ISI ‘masterminding’ fake currency racket Patna, October 29 This has brought into focus the smooth flow of fake Indian currency notes into the state which reportedly was only facilitating the nefarious designs linked to terror acts allegedly masterminded by the ISI. The alarming rise in counterfeit currency notes was evident when fake currency notes were detected in the chests of some banks and post offices in recent past. By June this year, the state government had already seized fake notes worth Rs 4,73,050, indicating almost a six-fold rise in the flow of counterfeit notes in the state compared to 2004. Contrary to popular perception that most of the counterfeit notes were in the denomination of Rs 500, the authorities concerned detected fake notes in the denomination of Rs 100 this year. Against the recovery of 269 fake Rs 500 notes this year, 3,312 fake Rs 100 notes were seized in the first six months this year.
|
|
‘Simulated war’ by Indian, US warships
Mumbai, October 29 Over 6,500 US navy personnel from an expeditionary strike group led by USS Boxer and warships of the Indian Navy’s western fleet are participating in the exercise that began on October 25 and will end on November 5. This is the eighth exercise in the Malabar series. “The purpose of the multi-national exercise, which focuses on a number of naval mission areas, is to strengthen ties between American, Canadian and Indian forces as well as enhance the cooperative security relationship between the nations involved,” said a statement from the US Embassy.
|
|
Kochi e-mail threat case solved
Thiruvananthapuram, October 29 The investigation showed the “prima facie” motive behind the crime was to cause trouble for a girl whom Raj had known through chatting on the Internet, Director General of Police Raman Srivastava and DIG Padmakumar told reporters here. However, further inguiries will be made to ascertain whether Raj had any links with any organisation, they said.
— PTI
|
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Videos
